Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - 6/10

It was interesting to read the views of others on this film.  I watched it last week and didn't think it that bad, though it's a far cry from the earlier films (I saw Clear and Present Danger last year coming back from the US, and thought it was terrific).  It was one of those films where everything was very much "ok" without ever impressing.  Not particularly memorable in any way, though my wife and I did note that it was interesting to focus on "economic" terrorism (though the plot reduces to a much simpler act of physical terrorism at the end - there's only so much tension you can conjure up with a spreadsheet).

About Time - 7.5/10

Saw the trailer for this a while back and figured it might be an ok romcom.  Which it definitely was.  Domnhall Gleeson does a remarkable job of capturing the essence of being Bill Nighy's son Tim.  The plot is that Bill Nighy reveals to his son on his 21st birthday that the men in the family have the ability to travel back within their own past.  This opens the doors to a range of obvious scenes where Tim uses his new-found powers to correct a series of goofs in his effort to find a girlfriend.  Anyone who's ever played a videogame with fingers hovering over the save/load buttons will appreciate what a boon this type of power would be.  It avoids all that "let's kill Hitler" stuff, by focussing on what you would do differently in your own life - a neat concept.  The first part of the film is pretty predictable, but after a while the heart starts to shine through, and makes you wonder whether time spent trying to correct and perfect all the little mistakes robs you of the richer experience of life, warts and all.

Domnhall Gleeson is really good, Bill Nighy is brilliant as ever, and Rachel Macaddams as Tim's girlfriend is surprisingly believable.  The film probably won't rock your world, but it is enjoyable and less "romcom" and more focussed on the different relationships of the central character to his girlfriend, his sister, and his dad, and the impact of his choices on those relationships.